Are you tuned in to the needs of your Gen Z audience? Are you marketing to Gen Z at all? Because—contrary to popular belief—Gen Zers want to, and do, listen to the radio! So how exactly can you attract them to listen to your radio broadcast?
1/ Who are Generation Z?
2/ How to market your radio broadcast to Gen Z
3/ Final thoughts
In one of their “Share of the Ear” research studies, Edison discovered that Gen Z spent 15% of their audio listening time tuning into AM/FM radio. And 40% said that they’d listened to the radio in the car in the last month. They admit to being enticed by the completely free format, as well as the convenience and ease of use when used for in-car listening.
But there’s something crucial missing from their radio experience: relevancy and entertainment.
The widespread belief that “Gen Z don’t listen to the radio and only want to stream on their phones” has caused radio stations to completely disregard them as a potential audience. As a result, everything from the marketing campaigns to the music and topics covered in radio broadcasts alienate Gen Z from the conversation.
For radio broadcasters, marketing to Gen Z is still a bit of a mystery. In this blog, we’ll cover some key strategies that you can use to acquire and retain Gen Z listeners.
But first: who are Generation Z?
Gen Z are typically defined as people born between 1997 and 2012. And like every generation, their behaviors have been shaped by the cultural, social, and economic climate of the world they’ve grown up in.
Rapid technological advancement. Rising climate anxiety. Financial crisis. COVID-19.
But what truly makes Gen Z different from other generations—specifically in the context of radio—is that they’re the first true digital natives.
Gen Zers grew up on the internet and spend more time on it than any other generation. They use it to discover news, stream music, connect with friends; shop, work, date, and everything in between.
With such voracious consumption of attention-grabbing content and media across different apps, platforms, and websites, radio broadcasters must adapt in order to connect and engage with the unique needs of Gen Z audiences.
So, what marketing attracts Gen Z?
Just like previous generations, Gen Zers are unique in their interests, preferences, and communication styles. Plus, they have a noticeably shorter attention span. So, while there are lots of different ways to promote your radio stations, marketing specifically to Gen Z requires you to employ a different set of strategies than if you were appealing to baby boomers, Gen X, or millennials.
Let’s take a look at how to market your radio broadcast to Gen Z.
To raise awareness of your radio broadcast among the Gen Z crowd, you need to meet them where they are: online.
Gen Z dominates digital platforms. It’s where they seek out news, music, products, and other forms of entertainment. Embracing digital platforms such as social media, streaming services, podcasting, mobile apps, and video, gives radio broadcasters access to Gen Z audiences.
Take social media platforms. YouTube is the most popular app, visited by 84% of Gen Z audiences. This is followed by TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram. When you have a presence on these channels, you become more discoverable to your target audience than if you were to focus on social channels dominated by other generations, such as Facebook or LinkedIn.
But there’s more to it than that.
For Gen Z to pay attention to you, you need to actively engage in conversations and produce relatable content.
It’s much like if you’re buying leads from third parties—it opens the doors for communication with your target audience, but you still need to entice them to walk through.
Digital and social media marketing strategies involve live streaming on YouTube or Twitch, launching a podcast, creating TikToks and Instagram reels, or interacting with audiences via instant messages. Whatever platforms you choose, unify them using a communications platform as a service (CPaaS) and ensure that your interactions are personalized to your audience.
Asking a social media influencer to promote your product on their platform remains a prosperous way to attract the attention of audiences—millennials, in particular. But do Gen Z like influencer marketing, too?
In short, yes, they do. But the relationship is changing.
In a recent survey, 47.5% of Gen Z said that they were “not very likely” or “not likely at
all” to buy something recommended by influencers. Why? Because Gen Z fiercely values sincerity, authenticity, and relatability.
So, if an influencer is clearly promoting a product for the money rather than genuine interest or value, Gen Z are much more likely to avoid both parties.
While encouraging someone to listen to your radio (rather than purchase a product) has a higher success rate, the point still stands.
To effectively engage Gen Z through influencer marketing, partner with relatable influencers whose audience will genuinely connect with your broadcast. This enables them to promote your product authentically.
Consider partnering with micro-influencers, as they tend to focus on specific niches and have the most influence over their followers due to their expertise and trustworthiness.
According to the Edison study, 93% of Gen Z own a smartphone. And, the majority of their audio listening happens via this device. So, to attract Gen Z audiences, you need to create accessible, high-quality mobile broadcasting experiences.
Aim to provide a streamlined mobile listening experience. One of the reasons Gen Z enjoys listening to the radio in the car is because it’s easy to turn on and off. So, you want to replicate this experience on mobile devices with a one-touch button for tuning in and out.
You also want to ensure that audiences can stream without interruptions, which you can make possible by leveraging VoIP. There are many advantages of VoIP for business, one of these being that you can optimize audio stream quality for users in areas with poor network speeds.
Other tips include being available on multiple app stores to expand your reach and having a responsive website. Or, if you don’t want a website, why not try out RadioKing’s radio widgets to boost your visibility and smartphone accessibility?
Moreover, you can consider utilizing a platform like OneStream for integrated business planning, which will allow you to unite budgets, planning, and decision-making for cross-platform initiatives.
Naturally, Gen Z audiences want to consume media that’s interesting and relevant to them. The problem is that too many radio stations fail to deliver contemporary media—or worse, they look down on it—completely alienating younger audiences in the process.
But with a finger on the pulse of trends and an ear in the right conversations, your radio station can appeal to Gen Z audiences.
What contemporary music is Gen Z listening to right now? Gen Z has a gloriously diverse music taste. Hip-Hop/R&B is the favorite, followed by Top 40, alternative rock, and country, according to Edison.
You can engage Gen Z audiences by using contemporary music for bumps. This will pique the interest of Gen Zers who might be, for example, listening to the radio in the car with older relatives. You can also use the music they love within your marketing videos to capture their attention on social media.
And, with insight into what Gen Z audiences are listening to, you can even discover new music or artists that work with the vibe of your radio playlists.
Understanding what Gen Z cares about will also help you create impactful marketing campaigns that align with your target audience’s values.
As the most socially conscious generation, Gen Z stands for issues like climate change, sustainability, LGBTQ+ rights, mental health, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. They believe brands have a social responsibility to advocate for these issues, with almost 70% saying that they prefer brands that stand for social justice.
Marketing to Gen Z involves using your platform to advocate for the causes that they believe in. Do that, and you position yourself as a radio station worthy of Gen Z’s attention. But—and this is really important—it has to be done authentically.
Striking a balance between relatability and authenticity is crucial.
Advocating for a cause you don’t really understand makes you come across as a phony. And if you’re not a Gen Z-er, using contemporary Gen Z slang or memes in your marketing messages can make your brand come off as the cringey uncle who’s trying to “get down with the kids”.
It screams inauthenticity, which is one of the biggest sins in Gen Z marketing.
That’s not to say that you shouldn’t insert Gen Z humor and slang into your marketing, though. In fact, Gen Z audiences resonate most with brands that speak their language and understand their in-jokes. The trick is not to force it; any acronyms, memes, slang, humor, and references to trends should be implemented into your marketing naturally and contextually.
What’s the best way to create authentic, relatable marketing messages for Gen Z? Hire Gen Z talent onto your marketing team. More on this in the following paragraph.
There are several ways to get Gen Z involved in your radio broadcast marketing. One of the best strategies is to source and hire Gen Z digital marketers and radio hosts.
Why? Because they’re digital natives who have a natural insight into what their generation wants, enabling them to communicate with their peers on a level that doesn’t come as effortlessly to other age groups.
They know when you’re coming across an inauthentic or cringey. They know what’s trending and what’s going out of fashion. They know where your audience is and how best to reach them. All of this makes Gen Z workers an invaluable, if not essential, asset to your marketing strategy.
Gen Zers are also highly adaptable and flexible, possessing the technical skills to work productively from anywhere. This empowers you to cast a wider net and source talent outside of your local area. Look up how to do a conference call on Android to connect to your Gen Z workforce wherever they are.
You can also engage Gen Zers in your marketing activities by encouraging them to create user-generated content (UGC).
61% of Gen Zers say that UGC is their favorite type of content. It has significant influence over the brands that they engage with because it’s made by real people (rather than brands who have ulterior motives). So, it gives the content extra reliability and authenticity.
Raised in the digital world, Gen Z are the generation with the fiercest craving for interactive experiences. They don’t just want to be passive listeners; they want to be active participants.
Interactive marketing, such as polls, challenges, competitions, quizzes, and UGC campaigns, enables you to have genuine two-way conversations and create an online community around your brand. You can also integrate these techniques into your radio broadcasts to immerse and activate passive listeners, boosting your engagement rate.
For more inspiration, check out this list of 10 great radio ideas to boost listener interactivity.
While marketing to Gen Z isn’t as much of a mystery as it might first appear, it certainly isn’t the easiest task for radio stations. Gen Z’s preference for on-demand, interactive, and visual content makes them one of the hardest generations to market the linear, audio-based radio experience to.
But this shouldn’t take away from the fact that Gen Z are still radio listeners. And, with the right marketing strategy, you can not only attract and engage them, but nurture them into loyal listeners.
Marketing to Gen Z involves meeting them on the devices they use and embracing the social platforms they’re on. From there, create meaningful, engaging content, such as short-form video content, livestreams, and UGC, that resonates with Gen Z experiences, interests, and values. And remember to remain authentic—Gen Z can sniff out fake vibes from a mile away.
Ready to put these tips to the test and welcome a new wave of listeners to your radio broadcast?
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